VisionFund Cambodia Sold To Woori Bank of Korea

London, 25 June 2018 – After more than 20 years of providing
financial services to hundreds of thousands of Cambodians, VisionFund
International, the owner of a global network of microfinance institutions and
part of World Vision International, a global Christian relief, development and
advocacy organisation, is pleased to announce the sale of its microfinance
institution, VisionFund (Cambodia) Ltd. to Woori Bank, one of the largest
commercial banks in Korea.

In line with VisionFund International’s strategy, it
will redeploy the funds to other microfinance institutions across its network
that are at earlier stages of development, in markets less well-served by
microfinance providers and where VisionFund, as an early entrant offering
microfinance services can impact more vulnerable families, living in rural
communities with limited ability to access financial services.

Ninety per cent of
VisionFund Cambodia’s clients were women such as Soun Ny who took out her first
loan from VisionFund after her husband died, to help her grow her agricultural
business and provide for her children.

Soun Ny, her eight
children and six grandchildren lived in an old wooden house on land they could
not afford to cultivate. Soun Ny earned so little that most days she could only
afford rice for one meal a day, which meant her children and grandchildren often
went hungry. She applied for her first loan of USD100 from VisionFund Cambodia
in 2009 and she invested the money in raising pigs. Since then, Soun Ny has
taken out 11 further loans which has helped her to substantially increase her
income so that her family has three meals a day, her children are studying and
there are funds left over to provide for clothing and other expenses.

Over the years, and
with hundreds of thousands of rural clients like Soun Ny, VisionFund Cambodia grew
to encompass a nationwide network of 106 branches, focused on providing
microfinance services primarily in rural communities where there has been
limited or no access to financial services. It currently serves 216,000
clients, positively impacting the lives of 335,000 children[1].

Demand for
VisionFund Cambodia’s services resulted in its successful growth making it
VisionFund International’s largest microfinance institution[2] with a current gross loan
portfolio of $175 million.

Mr Michael Mithika, President and CEO of VisionFund International,
said, “We are honoured to have served Cambodian families for over two decades
and celebrate their success. In response to the impressive growth and
development of the local market and in line with our mission to bring children
brighter futures, we have recognised that it would be beneficial for VisionFund
Cambodia to have an owner better resourced to support the future growth strategy
and for us to redeploy the funds to countries where there is significantly less
access to microfinance services for vulnerable populations. We are therefore
delighted with Woori Bank as the new owner which will allow the organisation to
develop and grow and have an even greater impact on Cambodian families and
communities.”

Since it was founded
in the early 1990s as a small credit programme run by World Vision International-Cambodia,
VisionFund Cambodia was dedicated to positively impacting children’s lives by
helping their families to grow businesses and increase incomes resulting in
their children receiving nutritious food, attending school and receiving
adequate healthcare.

Mr Kyung Hoon Park,
Head of Global Business Group at Woori Bank stated, “We are very pleased to have
acquired VisionFund Cambodia, a robust nationwide microfinance business and we
look forward to working with its strong management team and staff to combine
our commercial banking expertise and their local knowledge to bring
microfinance products to even more Cambodians. This acquisition cements our
commitment to Cambodia where we look forward to playing a bigger role in the
development of its financial services market.”

VisionFund International
maintains a strong and growing presence in Asia with microfinance institutions
in five Asian countries. In accordance with its mission, VisionFund
International will use the proceeds of the sale to support the growth of its
network of microfinance institutions in 29 countries around the world, seeking
to invest in markets where it can deliver the greatest social and financial
inclusion impact.

-Ends-

ABOUT VISIONFUND INTERNATIONAL

VisionFund
International, World Vision’s microfinance arm, has been improving the lives of
children in the developing world for more than a decade. By offering small
loans and other financial services, its clients develop successful businesses,
enabling their children to grow up healthy and educated. In 2017, VisionFund
International provided loans to 1.2 million borrowers, with roughly
three-quarters of these going to women, two-thirds to rural households, and a
third to clients actively involved in farming. Repayment rates were 97%. Also
in 2017, 4.6 million of our clients’ children were being positively impacted
through its MFI network located across 30 countries in Africa, Latin America,
Asia, and Eastern Europe.